I have recently been gaining more and more appreciation for graphic novels. It used to not understand them as a whole and (embarrassingly and shamefully now) did not necessarily consider them actual “books” (loose definition). But when I found a forgotten copy of Maus by (Art Spiegelman) when cleaning out my brother’s book shelf, everything changed. But we are not here to talk about that book (as equally wonderful and moving as it is), we are here to talk (write?) about Nimona. To start off with, the first page of Nimona has the best dedication that I have seen. “For all the Monster Girls”. This one hit me straight in the chest. I was always a bit of an outsider growing up. I was that weird kid with not terrible social skills but still was defined as “socially awkward” and not exactly complete up there. Ya know? I never knew what to call myself and I did not want to be renamed to the stereotypical “That weird girl”. I cannot say what the other kids said behind my back, as obviously I was not there but I’m thinking it was not always positive. I grew up, changed a bit on the way but always solidified with this “weird girl” part of my life. She never went away and I never wanted her to in fact. But when I saw that dedication, I connected to these 5 words with such intensity and weight that I almost couldn’t turn the page. This book already took my breath away and this is only the first page. Everything, of course, just gets better from here on out.

As you can probably tell from my other “book reviews” (which I put in quotes because I do not know if you can count the way I review books as a traditional “book review”), I am going to do a horrible job of summarizing this amazing story and just talk about my overall thoughts in a word-vomit like format. Sound good to everyone? But in a way, that might be better so that you can go in reading it mostly blind but just with the remembrance of how it affect me, a random strange on the internet with a love of words and meaning. Nimona is a story of an unlikely friendship that seems to blossom out of evil desires, turning into true companionship when these two outcast realize the value of their relationship. A young girl with unusual power reveals the true nature of the people in her lives. With a drawing style completely unique to Stevenson, this graphic novel will have you laughing out loud and then crying within seconds. There is action, drama, wonder and magic to be found in the pages and a true sense of creativity to be found in between the pages. A story that will stay with you, please treat yourself to this amazing character’s journey of self acceptance and how it affects other’s along the way.